New Delhi: As devotees entered the Bala Vinaynagar Temple in Chennai’s Arumbakkam to offer their prayers on Tamil New Year, they found the shrine decorated not with flowers or lights but money. Currency notes of all denominations – ranging from Rs 1 to Rs 200 – adorned the walls and ceilings of the temple for the auspicious day of Puthandu.According to news agency ANI, it cost approximately Rs 4 lakh to cover the interiors of the temple from wall to wall. We’re not sure if the money is real. Every year on Tamil New Year, the temple is decorated with currency notes.

A video by news agency ANI showed devotees walking through alleys lined with rupee notes. A Ganesha idol mounted on top of a pedestal covered with currency notes and a delicately ornate chandelier made out of Rs 200 and old Rs 50 notes were also on display. Column, pillars – all made of money – made for an unusual sight as people came to pray.

Watch the video here:

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Tamil New Year or Puthandu is the first day of the Tamil calendar. The prosperous day is observed with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu calendar and almost falls on 14th April every year. The day is celebrated as Vishu in Kerala and Bihu in Assam. It also marks the beginning of New Year in West Bengal, Punjab, Manipur and Odisha among other states. People celebrate Puthandu by cleaning their homes, cooking traditional meals and visiting the temple.

In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wished the people of Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha on their respective harvest festivals and new year celebrations – Rongali Bihu, Vishu, Naba Barsha, Puthandu Pirappu, and Maha Vishuba Sankranti.

He said the country was proud of its diversity. He also tweeted his wishes in respective regional languages.